Throttle control device for motorcycles and the like

ABSTRACT

A throttle control device for use with a spring-return throttle wherein a rotatable sleeve on a handlebar must be rotated to advance the throttle, the throttle control device including a clamping arrangement receivable over the rotatable sleeve to be just forward of a handgrip normally received over the sleeve, the clamping arrangement having a tab that engages conventional equipment to prevent rotation of the clamping means, and including a lever operated cam for clamping the sleeve to hold the throttle in a pre-set position, the clamping arrangement being held in position by the handgrip.

This invention relates to throttle control devices, and is moreparticularly concerned with a cruise control device for use inconjunction with returned-biased throttles, such as are used onmotorcycles and the like.

In numerous vehicles of the type having handlebars, as opposed to awheel for steering, the throttle is located at the end of the handlebarsand is arranged to be operated by rotation of the grip at the extendingend of the handlebar. As in most motorized vehicles, the throttle isequipped with a spring return so that when the throttle is released, theengine automatically returns to idle speed.

While the spring-return throttle is quite desirable in most cases bothto minimize the effort required and to achieve maximum safety, there areoccasions on which it is desirable to have the throttle remain in asubstantially fixed position. These occasions are primarily during longtrips wherein a given speed is sustained for an extended period of time.During such trips, one's hand becomes quite fatigued from continuouslyholding the throttle in a fixed position without being able to restone's hand occasionally. It will be understood that one cannot switchhands on the throttle because the operator's left hand is too far fromthe throttle to operate the throttle with safety.

In the past, there have been numerous devices that attempted to solvethe above stated problem. One form of prior art device includes a springto bias the throttle towards the "on" position, thereby counteracting,or partially counteracting, the throttle spring which attempts to returnthe throttle to the idle position. This type of device has been utilizedin many forms. One form is as a home-made apparatus wherein a spring isinserted and wound to some arbitrary extent, then pinned in place withinthe handlebar. Other forms have included devices manufacturedcommercially with various degrees of engineering to improve theoperation of the device. In all cases, however, the counteracting springmust: (1) simply reduce the amount of effort required to advance thethrottle, (2) balance the throttle spring so that the throttle will stayin any given position, or (3) overcome the throttle spring to the extentthat the throttle will automatically advance. In the first case, theproblem has been only partially solved, since one must still maintainhis grip on the throttle in order to maintain a given speed. In thesecond case, the advantages of a spring-return throttle are completelydone away with so that one must use effort to advance the throttle, thenmust use effort to return the throttle. The last case is one that wouldordinarily be achieved by error only, since it would normally beconsidered hazardous to have the throttle to advance automatically.Another variety of cruise control is the type wherein some clampingmeans engages some portion of the throttle advancing apparatus and holdsthe throttle apparatus in a pre-set position. With this form ofapparatus, the throttle would be placed at the desired position, thenthe cruise control device would be engaged to retain that position. Thistype of device has usually been cumbersome and unwieldy because of thenecessity to hold a clamping means stationary with respect to thehandlebar but to have the clamping means in position to engage thehandlebar grip.

The present invention overcomes the above mentioned and otherdifficulties with the prior art cruise control devices by providing athrottle control device comprising a clamping means receivable over therotatable sleeve by which the throttle can be advanced, the clampingmeans being located forward of, and substantially continguous with, thehand grip. The clamping means includes a tab for engaging conventionalequipment on the handlebar to prevent rotation of the clamping meanswith respect to the handlebar, and, the clamping means includes meansfor urging the clamp members apart to release the throttle advancemeans, and cam means for urging the clamp members towards each other toengage the throttle advance means. The cam means is preferably designedso that a positive motion by the operator is required to engage theclamping means, and a very simple motion is required to disengage theclamping means. Furthermore, the apparatus of the present invention issuch that the cruise control device can be manually overridden forincreasing or decreasing acceleration without releasing or otherwisechanging the cruise control device.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from consideration of the following specification whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the presentinvention installed on a conventional handlebar for a motorcycle or thelike;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1,portions thereof being shown in cross-section to show the constructionof the device;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3--3in FIG. 1 of the drawing;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cruise control device ofthe present invention as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing; and,

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of the invention, portionsof the handlebar being shown in phantom.

Referring now and more particularly to the drawing and to thoseembodiments of the invention here chosen by way of illustration, it willbe seen that the cruise control device is generally designated at 10,and is here shown as being installed on a conventional handlebar 11having a handlebar grip 12 at one end of the handlebar 11. The assemblyfurther includes a housing 14 which contains conventional apparatuswhereby the rotary motion of the grip 12 is converted into a linearmotion to move cables within the tubes 15 and 16. Such apparatus isconventional and is well understood by those skilled in the art. Thedetails are therefore not shown herein.

It will be observed in FIG. 1 of the drawing that the cruise control 10is located between the hand grip 12 and the housing 14 which places thedevice 10 contiguous with the hand grip 12 to be in easy reach of aperson's thumb or forefinger.

Looking at FIG. 2 of the drawing, it will be seen that the handlebar 11extends through the above described apparatus so that the hand grip 12surrounds the extending end of the handlebar 11. In order to operate thecable or other means within the tubes 15 and 16, there is conventionallya rotatable sleeve 18 which covers the end of handlebar 11, and whichreceives the hand grip 12. As a result, it will be seen that, onrotation of the hand grip 12, the sleeve 18 is rotated while thehandlebar 11 remains stationary. The housing 14 is fixed to thehandlebar 11 and the housing 14 is stationary with respect to thehandlebar 11.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the tubes 15 and 16 extendfrom fittings 19 and 20, the fittings 19 and 20 being integrally formedwith the housing 14, and extending therefrom. The fittings 19 and 20 arenormally slightly spaced apart as shown in FIG. 1.

It will now be understood that the cruise control device 10 of thepresent invention is received over the sleeve 18, and, the controldevice 10 includes an anchoring means 21 which extends forwardly to beheld between the fittings 19 and 20. As a result, the control device 10is held stationary relative to the handlebar 11 and surrounds therotatable sleeve 18.

Looking now at FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing for a better understandingof the construction of the control device 10, it will be seen that thedevice includes a disk 25 having a central aperture 26. The disk 25 issplit so that the disk is divided into a plurality of sections, theplurality of sections being movable away from one another to enlarge theaperture 26, and movable towards one another to reduce the size of theaperture 26.

Mounted on the circumference of the disk 25, there is a constrictionmeans 28 for urging the plurality of sections of the disk 25 towards oneanother, the construction means 28 being operable by a lever 29.

In more detail, it will be seen that the embodiment of the inventionhere chosen by way of illustration includes two sections of the disk,the sections being indicated at 25a and 25b. The split in the disk 25which separates the disk into the two sections 25a and 25b is here shownas extending vertically so that the disk 25 is divided into a left andright segment, the segment 25a being the right-hand segment and thesegment 25b being the left-hand segment. It should be understood thatleft and right as here designated is as viewed by a person riding amotorcycle or the like.

The anchoring means 21 comprises a tab fixed to the circumference of thedisk 25, the tab 21 spanning the lowermost split in the disk 25. The tab21 is fixed to both the section 25a and the section 25b so that the tab21 serves to hold the two sections together. It will be understood thatthe tab 21 is sufficiently bendable to allow the necessary motion of thesections of the disk 25. Alternatively, it will be understood that thetab 21 could be the extending portion of a bracket which is pivotallyfixed to the section of the disk 25, the object being to allow thevarious sections of the disk 25 to move relative to one another.

Looking now at the constriction means 28, it will be seen that the disk25 has a pair of ears 30 and 31 fixed thereto, the ear 30 being fixed tothe section 25a of the disk 25 and the ear 31 being fixed to the section25b of the disk 25. The ears 30 and 31 are provided with axially alignedbores 32 and 34 respectively. The bores 32 and 34 receive therethrough astud 35, the stud 35 having a spring 36 surrounding the stud 35 betweenthe ears 30 and 31. It will be understood that the spring 36 is ofsufficient diameter to remain between the ears 30 and 31 so that thespring 36 tends to urge the ears 30 and 31 apart, thereby urging thesections 25a and 25b of the disk 25 apart.

One end of the stud 35 receives a nut 38 to hold the stud in place,while the opposite end of the stud 35 is provided with a tongue 39having a hole 40 therein. This tongue 39 is adapted to be receivedwithin a slot 41 of the lever 29. The lever 29 has holes 42 which willalign with the hole 40 when the tongue 39 is received within the slot 41so that a pin 44 can be passed through holes 42 and the hole 40 to holdthe assembly together.

It should now be understood that the distance from the holes 42 to theend 45 of the lever 29 is such that the stud 35 is allowed to move underthe influence of the spring 36 to separate the sections 25a and 25b ofthe disk 25. The spring 36 will hold the sections sufficiently separatedthat the inner circumference of the aperture 26 will not engage thesleeve 18. However, it should be understood that the distance from theholes 42 to the side of the lever 29 is a greater distance so that, whenthe lever 29 is pivoted about the pin 44 so that the side 46 engages theear 31, the stud 35 will be moved towards the lever 29, therebycompressing the spring 36 and constricting the disk 25 by bringing thesections 25a and 25b towards each other to reduce the size of theaperture 26 so that the inner periphery of the aperture 26 engages thesleeve 18.

From the foregoing discussion, it should be now understood that, inorder to use the cruise control device 10 of the present invention, onewould first remove the hand grip 12, then slide the device 10 onto thesleeve 18 until the disk 25 substantially engages the housing 14 and theanchoring means, or the tab 21, extends between the fittings 19 and 20.At this point, the hand grip 12 would be replaced over the rotatablesleeve 18 until the hand grip 12 is substantially contiguous with thedisk 12. Because the tab 21 extends between the fittings 19 and 20, itwill be understood that the disk 25 cannot rotate with respect to thehandlebar 11 or the housing 14. As a result, if the periphery of theaperture 26 engages the sleeve 18 tightly, the sleeve 18 will not rotatewith respect to the handlebar 11 whereas if the aperture 26 is loosearound the sleeve 18, the sleeve 18 can rotate freely with nointerference from the cruise control device 10.

Thus, when one is riding the motorcycle or vehicle under normalconditions, the cruise control device 10 would in no way change, orinterfere with, the conventional operation of the spring-returnthrottle.

Considering the situation wherein a person would wish to use the cruisecontrol device of the present invention, one would ride the vehicle asusual, and would not operate the vehicle in any different manner untilhe attained a desired speed and wished to maintain that speed for anextended period of time. At this point, the operator of the vehiclewould hold his grip on his hand grip 12 while extending a finger toraise the lever 29, causing the lever 29 to rotate about the pin 44.This action will cause the stud 35 to be moved through the ears 30 and31, compressing the spring 36 and drawing the sections 25a and 25b ofthe disk towards each other to constrict the aperture 26 and cause theinner periphery of the aperture 26 to engage the rotatable sleeve 18.When the lever 29 is in its new position wherein the surface 46 engagesthe ear 31, the stud 35 will be held in its moved position with thespring 36 compressed and the sections of the disk 25 tightly engagingthe sleeve 18. In this condition, the disk 25 cannot rotate with respectto the handlebar 11 due to the engagement of the tab 21 between thefittings 19 and 20, and the sleeve 18 cannot rotate with respect to thedisk 25 because of the frictional engagement of the inner periphery ofthe aperture 26 with the sleeve 18. As a result, the rotatable sleeve 18will be held in its predetermined position.

Since the disk 25 is relatively thin, it will be understood that thesurface of the disk 25 engaging the rotatable sleeve 18 is rather smallso that the holding force can be overcome by the operator of thevehicle. As a result, if the operator wishes to advance the throttleslightly, he can do so without releasing the cruise control device 10 bymerely rotating the hand grip 12 as he would normally do to advance thethrottle, thereby overcoming the frictional force holding the rotatablesleeve 18 in its fixed position. Likewise, if the operator wishes todecrease the throttle somewhat, he can rotate the hand grip 12 in theopposite direction, again overcoming the holding force of the cruisecontrol device 10.

When the operator of the vehicle wishes to release the cruise controldevice 10 so that it will no longer be effective, he can simply extend afinger and urge the lever 29 down, causing the lever 29 to rotate aboutthe pin 44 to the position as shown in the drawing. By this motion, thestud 35 will move through the ears 30 and 31 of the disk 25, the spring36 will expand and move the ears 30 and 31 apart thereby urging thesections 25a and 25b of the disk 25 apart to expand the size of theaperture 26 and release the grip on the rotatable sleeve 18.

It will therefore be seen that the cruise control device of the presentinvention provides a very simple and efficient means by which therotatable sleeve for advancing the throttle on a vehicle can be rotatedto a predetermined position, and held in that position. The device ofthe present invention is especially desirable in that, even though thedevice is engaged, the operator of the vehicle can override the cruisecontrol device to increase the throttle and decrease the throttle at anygiven time. In addition, the cruise control device of the presentinvention is very easily released so that device can be used or not usedat the whim of the operator.

While the foregoing has been described for use with a vehicle having thetwo fittings 19 and 20, FIG. 5 of the drawing shows a slightly modifiedform of the invention wherein only one such fitting is provided on avehicle. In this instance, the tab, here designated as tab 21a, isbifurcated so that the fitting shown in phantom as 19a is receivedbetween the bifurcations of the tab 21a. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that the operation of the cruise control device is otherwisethe same, the anchoring means for preventing rotation being somewhatmodified to allow use of the device with a different style of vehicle.

It will of course be understood by those skilled in the art that theembodiments of the invention here presented are by way of illustrationonly, and are meant to be in no way restrictive; therefore, numerouschanges and modifications may be made and the full use of equivalentsresorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A throttle control device, for a throttle apparatusincluding a handlebar and throttle operating means mounted on saidhandlebar, said throttle operating means including a sleeve rotatablymounted on said handlebar, said sleeve being adapted for receiving ahandgrip thereover, and a housing fixed to said handlebar adjacent tosaid sleeve, said control device comprising clamping means forselectively holding said throttle operating means in a predeterminedposition, characterized in that said clamping means includes a diskdefining an aperture for receiving said sleeve, said disk beingpositionable between said handgrip and said housing with said handgripsubstantially contiguous to said disk, anchoring means for preventingrotation of said disk with respect to said housing including a tab fixedto said disk and engageable with said housing, said disk including aplurality of sections, means for urging said plurality of sections awayfrom one another to enlarge said aperture and allow free rotation ofsaid sleeve with respect to said disk, and constricting means for urgingsaid plurality of sections towards one another to constrict saidaperture and restrict rotation of said sleeve.
 2. A throttle controldevice as claimed in claim 1, and wherein said housing includes at leastone fitting extending therefrom, characterized in that said tab isengageable with said at least one fitting for preventing rotation ofsaid disk.
 3. A throttle control device as claimed in claim 2, said tabbeing bifurcated, said at least one fitting being receivable between thebifurcations.
 4. A throttle control device as claimed in claim 2, saidconstricting means including a pair of ears, each ear of said pair ofears being fixed to one section of said plurality of sections, and cammeans for selectively urging said pair of ears towards each other.
 5. Athrottle control device as claimed in claim 4, and further including aspring between said ears for urging said ears away from each other, astud extending through said ears, said cam means being carried on oneend of said stud, and a lever for operating said cam.
 6. A throttlecontrol device as claimed in claim 5, said at least one fittingcomprising a pair of fittings spaced apart, said tab being receivablebetween said pair of fittings. .Iadd.
 7. A throttle control device, fora throttle apparatus including a handlebar and throttle operating meansmounted on said handlebar, said throttle operating means including asleeve rotatably mounted on said handlebar, said sleeve being adaptedfor receiving a handgrip thereover, and a housing fixed to saidhandlebar adjacent to said sleeve, said control device comprisingclamping means for selectively holding said throttle operating means ina predetermined position, characterized in that said clamping meansincludes a disk defining an aperture for receiving said sleeve, saiddisk being positionable between said handgrip and said housing with saidhandgrip substantially contiguous to said disk, anchoring means forpreventing rotation of said disk with respect to said housing includinga tab fixed to said disk and engageable with said housing, said diskincluding at least one open portion separating adjacent sections of thedisk, the aperture being large enough to allow free rotation of saidsleeve with respect to said disk with the sections separated apredetermined distance, the control device further comprisingconstricting means for urging the sections toward one another so as toconstrict said aperture until the disk engages and restricts rotation ofthe sleeve. .Iaddend. .Iadd.8. A throttle control device according toclaim 7 wherein the disk includes two open portions splitting the diskinto two separated sections, the sections being attached together acrossone open portion, the the constricting means interconnecting thesections at the other open portion, the constricting means holding thesections away from each other so as to permit free rotation of thesleeve with respect to said disk but being constrictable to cause thesections to come toward each other to engage and restrict rotation ofthe sleeve. .Iaddend.